What If
by Bexpotter
Summary: AU: What if James had survived the attack on Godric's Hollow? On Hiatus
1. Default Chapter

What If?  
  
  
  
Disclaimer-I only own what I invented nothing else so go away or I'll set my pet Lethifold on you (See Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them)  
  
  
  
Okay this is a what if story. I have decided not to upload any more chapters of Two of a Kind or Flowers and Stags because they weren't going anywhere so unless I get lots of reviews on them telling me to carry on writing them I won't write any more. I am only going to upload this story and Phoenix's Destiny (oh and James's parentage is different in this story) okay got that.  
  
Oh and I've added a bit to the end of this chapter so you may want to read it if you want to know what is going on.  
  
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James Potter glanced at his watch and swore. It was nine o' clock and he was meant to have been home from work three hours ago. He finished his last piece of paperwork, threw down his quill and walked towards the fireplace in his office, grabbed some floo powder from the jar on the mantelpiece, threw it in the fire and called out.  
  
  
  
"Godrics Hollow" He stepped into the emerald green flames he felt the familiar sensation of being pulled down a plughole. James closed his eyes, he felt himself being thrown out and he put out his arms to stop himself being flung face first on the floor. He stood up and to his confusion he found himself back in his office. He tried again and found himself back in the same place. Totally confused James pulled his wand out of his pocket and apparated to the end of his road. He couldn't apparate straight to his house due to the safety measures himself and his wife Lily had put up around their house to stop Voldemort killing them and their fourteen month old son Harry.  
  
  
  
As soon as he arrived in the street he knew something was wrong, he turned round and saw his house or what was left of it, the building looked as though a bomb had hit it. James ran towards his house fearing the worst.  
  
  
  
"Lily, Lily" James called searching through the house. He went deathly pale as he saw his wife lying on the floor her eyes shut.  
  
  
  
"Lily, please wake up" He said checking her pulse. Nothing. "Lily please" He sobbed onto her chest. Suddenly he heard a baby cry. "Harry" James called through his tears. He ran over to where the cries were coming from. "Shh Harry." He said as he saw his son lying, crying on the floor, he picked him up. "So he didn't get you then." James cradled the small infant boy in his arms "Nasty cut he gave you" James said looking at the lightening bolt on Harry's forehead. James went back over to where his wife laid and picked up his wand which, he had dropped by her side. He apparated to a flat in London and knocked on the door. His best friend, Sirius Black opened it shocked to see James their holding Harry.  
  
  
  
"James what's wrong?" said Sirius looking concerned. James burst into tears onto Sirius's shoulder. Sirius was even more shocked at this because he had known James since they were six and he had only seen him cry twice once when he was fifteen when Lily (who was then his girlfriend) had dumped him and again when he was eighteen when Voldemort had murdered his parents.  
  
  
  
"Voldemort attacked the house, I was late home and he killed Lily." Sirius stood there stunned.  
  
  
  
"That scum of the Earth traitor, I'll kill Pettigrew I really will." Sirius growled. Harry started to cry again.  
  
  
  
"Shh Harry please stop crying shh." James said desperately trying to stop his only child from crying. It wasn't working.  
  
  
  
"James give Harry to me and come inside." James handed Harry to Sirius and followed him into his flat. Sirius shared a flat with his fiancée Sara Flynn. Sara was also Harry's godmother. The flat was a tip. This wasn't surprising seeing as the two people who lived there both could have easily won the most untidy witch/wizard of the year award if there had been one. James knew Sara was at her mother's house that week because Sara had done nothing but complain for the past month about it. Sirius was still trying to stop Harry from crying.  
  
  
  
"James, shouldn't one of us go and tell Professor Dumbledore what's happened?" Said Sirius tentatively not sure what James reaction would be.  
  
  
  
"Yeah I'll go" Said James trying to pull himself together.  
  
  
  
"No I'll go you stay here and look after Harry, I'll only be gone a little while." Sirius walked over to the fireplace and threw in some floo powder the flames turned the emerald colour they always's did, he stepped in the fire and called out Chocolate Frog and disappeared.  
  
  
  
James sat there for a minute before the realisation of what had happened suddenly hit him and he realised his that whole world had just fallen apart that was when he started to cry again.  
  
  
  
When Sirius got back about an hour later he found James and Harry both lying asleep on the sofa. Sirius debated waking James up to tell him what Dumbledore had said but decided against it, he looked so peaceful.  
  
  
  
Sirius walked into his bedroom and sat on the bed. He still couldn't believe what had happened, Lily, the same Lily who had turned Snapes hair red and gold just before the Gryffindor Vs Slytherin Quidditch Final, who had always let him copy her Charms homework, was gone. Dumbledore had told him to go to the house in the morning and see if he could rescue anything from the wreckage, which had previously been his best friends home. Then another thing Dumbledore had said surfaced in Sirius's troubled mind, Voldemort was gone the terror who had struck fear into the heart of every witch and wizard in the country was gone all because of a one year old baby. He knew he should be happy he had been trying to get rid of Voldemort since he left Hogwarts but try as he might he couldn't find a shred of happiness in any of his thoughts.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Okay now you will please review or I won't post anymore thank you. 


	2. Chapter Two

Thank you for all the reviews. I've never had so many for one chapter.  
  
  
  
Laurelgand- Thanks for being the first person to review.  
  
  
  
Jessica-Canada- Thanks for putting me in your fav fics.  
  
  
  
Fio2-I'll try not to make Snape to evil in this story and I decided that it would be too much to have the same parentage in this story as the others.  
  
  
  
Spanglestar-Thanx  
  
  
  
Maylessa- I know I feel sorry for him at the moment but things can only get better.  
  
  
  
Jubei Potter- Well I'm writing more now.  
  
  
  
Sakura3-Thanx and see above comment.  
  
  
  
Lily-See Spanglestar  
  
  
  
Genesis-I will try and write longer chapters.  
  
  
  
Anie-Harry will turn out reasonably 'normal'.  
  
  
  
Maggie_DB- See Juei Potter  
  
  
  
SJ- See Spanglestar  
  
  
  
Jayde- I love James too.  
  
  
  
Sophie.W –Okay, Okay  
  
  
  
A-Man –See Jubei Potter  
  
  
  
LeelaAngel –Well you're getting more  
  
  
  
Sasse Sam- I know poor James  
  
  
  
BlueSkywalker_2000 –Sorry for making you almost cry.  
  
  
  
Bob-I will keep going.  
  
  
  
Kassy-Thanx  
  
  
  
Viavain Kane- Sorry  
  
  
  
Alexpotter- Thank you v.much  
  
  
  
Shadow Zeeq- Thanks  
  
  
  
Tara-Thanks as well  
  
  
  
Fearless Shadow- I am so not Evil Bur…. You're the one who missed a Snape lesson not me I had to listen to him for an hour although he has changed.  
  
  
  
Mrs Finnagan-I know your waiting but be patient.  
  
  
  
Silverwolf –Yes okay  
  
  
  
Mrs Weasley –Sorry for making you cry.  
  
  
  
Dumbledorf –Do I really  
  
  
  
Terry Boot – So do I  
  
  
  
Madmoiselle Gabrielle-Well here it is.  
  
  
  
Madame Hooch- Well please don't die because of me.  
  
  
  
Tory-I will  
  
  
  
Hedwig-Well thanks  
  
  
  
That's the first Thank You list I've done. Okay here's what you have been waiting for, I know it took a long time but I've had school commitments and I've had a lot of homework that needed to be done (stop laughing Fearless Shadow and Mrs Finnagan I do occasionally do homework, just not French or Maths or Science or Latin or Geography or English or History or RS or IT etc!) this is chapter two of What If.  
  
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"Dearly beloved we are gathered here today…" The vicar said. James stood with Harry in his arms looking at the coffin that lay on the ground, how could it contain his wife whom only a week ago had been laughing and joking around with him, how could she now be dead. James couldn't here what the vicar was saying, tears were streaming down his face. Memories of Lily filled his mind. The crowd at the funeral was huge Lily had been very popular at Hogwarts and it appeared that nearly everyone she had known had turned out. There was also a large crowd of witches and wizard James didn't know wanting to pay there respects to the woman that had helped in the downfall of Voldemort.  
  
  
  
James glanced up and saw Sirius and Sara standing a few metres away from him had his arm around Sara's shoulders, Sara was crying softly. Next to Sirius was James other best friend Remus Lupin and a little further down was his old headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Peter Pettigrew who had betrayed James by telling Voldemort the location of the Potters had been sentenced to a life sentence in Azkaban. Scanning the crowd James realised Lily's sister Petunia was standing towards the back of the crowd he hadn't expected her to come she hadn't been to the wedding because her and Lily had never got on due to the fact Petunia thought she was a freak. Harry was actually being reasonably well behaved for him he probably doesn't understand what's happening James thought to himself.  
  
  
  
The funeral eventually came to an end and the crowd dispersed including Petunia leaving just James, Harry, Sirius, Sara and Remus.  
  
  
  
"Are you okay James?" Remus asked looking concerned  
  
  
  
"Yeah" He replied not looking up at Remus's worried face. Remus had always been the sensible one of the group he was the one that did his homework and got into the least trouble. "You guy's go home I'll be fine."  
  
  
  
"Do you want me to take Harry?" Sirius asked James  
  
  
  
"Yeah okay." James said handing Harry over to Sirius. The four of them left the graveyard leaving James on his own. He slid down onto the grass next to the grave and cried. He had no idea how long he was there but when he eventually got back to Sirius's it was dark.  
  
  
  
When James woke up the next morning he decided that he needed to pull himself together if not for his sake for Harry's sake. So he got dressed and went into the kitchen.  
  
  
  
"Morning, James" Sirius said eating a slice of toast.  
  
  
  
"Padfoot will you come with me to look for a flat for me and Harry, I don't think I can cope on my own?" James asked calling Sirius by the nickname they had chosen for each other in their fifth year. Sirius nodded.  
  
  
  
"Do you wanna leave Harry with Sara?" Sirius asked.  
  
  
  
"Yeah okay" Half an hour later the two of them left. When they returned six hours later after trudging round no less than twenty houses and flats, in various stages of decay, they had finally found somewhere remotely suitable. They had found a smallish two-bedroom house in Essex it had a large garden and was in a very remote area. The nearest town (Southend) was half hours drive away. James had already put an offer on the house and it had been accepted. He was going to move in, in three days time. Sirius had managed to rescue a few items from the house including Harry's buggy and a few items of clothing but no furniture, so it looked as though they had some shopping to do.  
  
  
  
Three days later James unlocked the door of his new house, Harry who was in the buggy Sirius had managed to rescue from the house, had fallen asleep. The house was plainly decorated and the only furniture apart from the stuff he had just bought was a dining room table, a couple of chairs, a chest of drawers in one of the bedrooms and a wardrobe. James carried one of the chairs upstairs and transfigured it into a cot. He placed the still sleeping Harry into it, in one of the two bedrooms and set about trying to sort out the house.  
  
  
  
  
  
Yes it was quite short and I'm sorry but I've had writers block and it had gone away but it's come back now with a vengeance, anyone got any cures for the dreaded disease. Okay now please review. 


	3. Chapter three at last

I've had total writers block on this chapter for about nine/ten months so I've written this crappy little chapter in the hopes of losing it.  
  
James Potter sat watching Harry unwrap one of his many Christmas presents, or rather he sat watching Harry attempt to unwrap one of his presents. The seventeen-month-old child wasn't exactly doing very well at the job; James eventually took pity on him and gave him some help.  
  
It was less than two months after the attack on Godrics Hollow that had left James's wife, Lily, dead. He had managed to sort out the house that now looked reasonably tidy. He had, had to buy all new furniture and other things. Sirius and himself had managed to rescue very little from the house. James had busied himself so much with sorting out the house and looking after Harry he had barely had time to mourn Lily even though he thought about her every second he was awake.  
  
Between the two of them they eventually managed to open the present, a toy broomstick, Harry seemed more interested in the snitch covered wrapping paper than the present itself. He sat ripping the paper into smaller pieces before throwing them up into the air. The broomstick lay forgotten on the floor next to him.  
  
"Well next year I'll just buy you a roll of wrapping paper." James said watching the giggling toddler on the floor next to him throw paper in his hair. James picked up the next parcel and handed it to Harry, who picked it up and started ripping at the paper delightedly, when he was distracted by a knock at the door. He got up and walked over to the front door and was greeted by.  
  
Two large snowballs in his face. " Hello Sirius, nice to see you too" He said sarcastically.  
  
"How did you know it was me." Said Sirius sounding surprised.  
  
"Who else greets me with a snowball!"  
  
"I do apparently," Said a voice easily recognisable as Remus's.  
  
"Yeah but that's Sirius's bad influence rubbing off on you."  
  
"Hey" Sirius said indignantly. "You're a bad influence on him too." James moved out of the way to let them in.  
  
"So why are you here." James asked shutting the door behind him.  
  
"To see my favourite Godson" Sirius replied promptly.  
  
"He's you're only Godson, Sirius" Remus reply with a bemused expression on his face.  
  
" That doesn't mean he's not my favourite." Sirius replied walking into the living room where Harry was still wrestling with his presents. "Do you want some help with that Harry, do you?" He said addressing Harry who wasn't listening to him.  
  
"I'm convinced dear Padfoot's getting broody." Remus said laughing at Sirius who was now sitting on the floor with Harry. "Before we know it he'll be married and settled down." Remus suddenly realised what he'd said when he looked up at James. "Sorry I wasn't thinking."  
  
"It's fine," said James who was looking at the floor.  
  
"No it's not."  
  
"It is I promise." James said finally. "Really I'm fine." Remus was still looking apologetically at James after all how long had it been since his wife had died, how insensitive could he be. James sat on the floor next to Harry and Sirius, Remus joined him. Harry had started throwing the ripped up paper at Sirius who of course had retaliated by throwing it straight back at Harry. "Sometimes Sirius I wonder which one of you two is only seventeen months old and which one of you is nearly twenty two." Remus said laughing at Sirius. You've waited long enough please review, please. 


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